a.n.smith (ansmith@netdoor.com)
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 08:34:37 -0600
>Elmore Leonard, too, but didn't see
Leonard
>on any of the lists. I'm a bit surprised nobody else
thinks that much of
>Leonard. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start
an argument. After
>all, to each his own, right? I'm just curious
why.
I had Leonard on my list, and I think he's one of the most
important hb writers, following the steps of the usual big 3
or 4. But you raise an interesting question as to why he
doesn't come up more often. The only thing I can think of is
that he's so much with us, still writing, and his body of
work and output is much larger than the "classic" writers of
60 years ago. Chandler and Hammett and Cain? Not all that
much, really. Ross Macdonald? A lot of books, but most of
them in one series. Elmore Leonard? Almost yearly, no
continuing series (just recurring characters) for nearly
thirty years (excluding the westerns, which take you back to
the 50s). He has affected contemporary hardboiled language so
much, that perhaps his impact will be seen as greater once
there's no more new work and it's time to evaluate the
influence.
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